Shoe



Feb. 3, 1931. l E. D. vAN TAssEL, JR 1,791,177

sHoE .Filed June 25. 1928 16 f1-g5 j* /'s ORNE Y i tion is to provide a shoe or a part thereof ject to uneven wear.

Patented Feb. 3,v 1931 EDWARD D. VAN TASSEL, JR., 0F SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS SHOE application med :une 25,1928. serial no. 287,949.

The present invention relates to shoes, and

more particularly to bottom reinforcements therefor. y

Shoe bottoms should be pliant longitudinally and rigid laterally. That is, the outsole should'bend freely about lateral `axes but should be stiff enough to resist bending about longitudinal axes. pliant longitudinally and rigid laterally-are flexible enough to make walking easy and are stiff enough to prevent distortion of the insole due to the tendency of theoutsole tov bend laterally when the tread surface of the outsole engages irregularities in a ro-ugh'surface. Outsoles, whether composed of leather, rubber or composition, are, however, sub- This `results in discomfort long before the shoe is wo-rn out. In walking on a rough surface the weakened portion of the worn outsole is forced upwardly by the unevenness of the rough surfaces so that the pressure therefrom is localized in a spot on the foot. It has been proposed heretofore to reinforce the shoe or the outsole therefor with a layer of woven wire fabric but these layers if made flexible enough to permit the outsole to flex freely in walking were not stift1 enough to resist bending of the outsole laterally and if made rigid enough to resist the lateral bending of the outsole prevented its fieXing longitudinally.l

Thelprincipal object of the lpresent invenwith a reinforcement which will permit the flexing of the loutsole longitudinally and which will resist the bending of the outsole laterally.

To the accomplishment of this object, the invention comprises the features and combinations of parts fully set forth hereinafter, the advantages of which will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

The -various features of the present invention Awill be readily understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings illustrating the bestY forms of the invention at present knowntothe inventor, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section,

the present invention;

Outsoles which are Fig. 2 is a plan of the bottom of a welt,v

shoe before receiving the outsole, the warp and weft strands of wire being shown diagrammatica-lly only to indicate that each course in the warp comprisesa plurality of strands while each course in the weft comprises a single strand; v

Fig. 3 is a detail plan of the reinforcement; Fig. 4 is an enlarged' detail perspective of the reinforcement; and y F ig., 5 is a sectional elevation lof the forepart of a rubber or composition' outsole having the reinforcement embedded therein.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. l and 2 an upper 6, insole 7 and IWelt 8 are secured together by an inseam 9 in the usual manner. A filler 10,'`

- which may be the common plastic cork composition or a tted unitary piece of material,

isA applied to the insole 7 Within the sewing rib 11 thereof. Before the outsole 12 is secured tothe Welt 8 by an outseam 13, the shoe is reinforced by a layer of woven vWire fabric 14 located adjacent the unexposed sur* face of the outsole in the finished shoe.

As shown particularly in Fig. 2 the fabric c bent about the axes of the stiffer weft strands 16 but is quite stiff when attempting to bend it about the axes of the light Warp strands. Stated in another way, the fabric 14 iexes freely when the outsole 12 is flexed longitudinally, `but resists the tendency for the outsole to bend laterally. With this construction, even after a considerable amount of wear of the outsole, the foot-engaging surface of the insole will be even and comfortable even when walking on a'rough surface as the reinforcement prevents distortion of v14 is composed of courses of warp and weft wire, located in the` shoe adjacent the unex- I vide against the `displacement of the fabric.'

When a unitary piece of filling material, such as prepared felt or fibre, is used, they strands 16, for example, in the woven fabric maybe roughened or upset at intervals to provlde spurs for gripping the ller material under the sole-laying pressure.

As shown in F ig. 5 the died out layer of woven wire fabric 14 may be embedded in a rubber or composition outsole 17 during the molding thereof. rl`he layer 14 is located adjacent the unexposed surface of the outsole as far from the tread surface 18 as is practicable in order to provide for the maximum wear of the outsole 17. rlhe warp and weft strands are arranged longitudinally and laterally of the outsole 18, respectively, in order to permit free flexing of the outsole longitudinally when applied to a shoe and at the same time resist the tendency of the outsole, evenwhen worn in spots, to be distorted. The fabric 14 is spaced from the peripheral edge of the outsole to clear the line of the outsole stitches 13.

lt is within the scope of the invention to apply the novel reinforcement to various types of shoes other than the welt shoe shown in the drawing for illustrative purposes. rlhose skilled in the art will understand its application from the foregoing description and it need only be added that when used in canvas footwear such as sneakers, or footwear wholly of rubber, the reinforcement may still be applied between the insole and outsole, when present, or molded into the outsole in the manner illustrated by Fig. 5.

The nature and scope of the invention hav ing been indicated, and its preferred embodiment having been specifically described, what is claimed as new, 1s

1. 1n a shoe, the combination with an outsole, of a reinforcement comprising woven material, having each course of its warp composed of a plurality of wires of relatively small gauge and each course of its weft coinposed of a single wire stiffer than the warp posed surface of the outsole.

2. ln ra shoe,the combination with an out- -sole,. of va reinforcement comprising woven materiah haya @fthe courses of its warp spaced farther' aart than thev courses of its weft, each course of the warp being hcomposed ofa plurality of wires of relatively small meer?? gauge and each course of the weft being composed lof a single wire stiffer than the warp wire, located in the shoe adjacent the unexposed surface of the outsole.

3. A shoe construction including an outsole reinforced remote 'from its tread surface with a layer of woven wire fabric having a E weft of sufficient stidness to resist 'lateral' and the outsole, said layer being so constructed as to resist ilexure in one direction while permitting flexure in the other direction and larranged on the shoc to flex freely with the outsole when under pressure while on the foot of the wearer.

5. A shoe having, in combination, an upper, an insole, an outsole, and a layer of woven wire interposed between the insole and the outsole, said layer being flexible about axes laterally of the shoe and more rigid under forces tending tobendit about axes lon gitudinally of the shoe.

6. A welt shoe construction including a pliable filler interposed throughout the forepart between the insole and outsole, and a layer of woven wire embedded in said filler woven in a manner to stifen the shoe bottom and prevent distortion laterally but completely permit all longitudinal flexures required when on the foot of the wearer.

7. A shoe construction including an outsole stiifened to prevent lateral distortion thereof by a layer of woven wire fabric that is wholly pliant when bent about the axes of one series of woven strands but which will resist flexure when attempting to'bend it about its other series of woven strands, said Wires lying in the shoe with the stier strands extending across the outsole to hold it fiat laterally and preserve the smoothness of its inner face, and with the pliant strands extending lengthwise of the outsole to permit longitudinal fiexure thereof.

In testimony whereof l affix my signature.

EDWARD D. VAN TASSEL, JR. 

